Hello!  It’s September 4, and we’re tracking today's top stories: Russia's Sberbank says India business booming despite sanctions, Chinese 'spamouflage' operatives are mimicking disillusioned Americans online, pro-Hamas students block entry at Columbia University, inside the Trump crypto project linked to $2M DeFi hack, and much more...  

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🎯 Russia's Sberbank says India business booming despite Western sanctions. Sberbank is under Western sanctions and cannot make transactions in U.S. dollars and euros or use the SWIFT system for international transfers. Reuters 

Top Stories

🌎 Chinese 'Spamouflage' operatives are mimicking disillusioned Americans online. A Chinese influence operation has ramped up its efforts to impact online discourse around the U.S. elections. Record

🌎 Chaos at Columbia: Pro-Hamas Students Block Entry To Campus, Vandalize Statue on First Day of Classes. New ‘actionist’ group, Unity of Fields, vows to bring violence to America. Free Beacon

🌎 Inside the Trump Crypto Project Linked to a $2M DeFi Hack and Former Pick-Up Artist. Four team members listed in World Liberty Financial's white paper previously worked on Dough Finance, which was drained of $2 million in July. CoinDesk

🚩 Trump Relatives Hacked on X With Fake Crypto Announcement Bloomberg

🌎 WazirX Hacker Starts to Move Stolen Ether Using Tornado Cash. The Indian crypto exchange was hacked for over $230M in July, and a restructuring process is underway in Singapore. CoinDesk

🌎 U.S. charges Hamas leader, other militants in connection with Oct. 7 massacre in Israel. The impact of the case is mostly symbolic given that Sinwar is hiding in tunnels in Gaza and three of the six defendants are dead. AP

🌎 How IS-K group linked to Taylor Swift terror plot is increasing in strength and influence. Data shows how a rise in online propaganda and a surge in global plots has made the Afghanistan branch of the terror group "the greatest external terror threat" to Europe. Sky

🌎 Former aide to NY governor charged as agent of the Chinese government. Her husband was also charged with money laundering conspiracy and conspiracy to commit bank fraud. CNN

🌎 Maduro declares Christmas in October amid Venezuela’s post-election strife. Authoritarian president moves up holiday celebrations yet again to distract from political crisis. Guardian

🌎 From World Champions to State Assets: The Outsized Impact of a Few Chinese Hackers. China’s elite vulnerability researchers have gained global recognition through their participation in prestigious hacking competitions and bug bounty programs. WOTR

🌎 Migrants flooding NYC’s justice system — making up ‘75% of arrests in Midtown’ — as sanctuary city laws handcuff cops. Across New York, recently arrived migrants are flooding the criminal justice system — at far higher rates than public officials have acknowledged. NYP

🚩 Understanding the EU's response to money laundering: New EU AML package EU

IN THE NEWS

Russia

🇷🇺 Sanctioned former central banker to become Russia's IMF representative Reuters

🇷🇺 Top Russian physicist jailed for 15 years for ‘state treason’ Guardian

🇷🇺 How to save the G7 deal to mobilize $50 billion for Ukraine Atlantic Council

🇷🇺 Russia permits imports of North Korean beer Reuters

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China

🇨🇳 Chinese spy mayor wanted by Philippines arrested BBC

🇨🇳 We investigated how China silenced its critics in an American city WaPo

🇨🇳 China’s property woes and U.S. sanctions have hit some cities hard CNBC

🇨🇳 Xinjiang vows to increase support for firms under U.S. forced labor sanctions SCMP

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Corruption & Financial Crime

💸 Lebanon’s former central bank governor detained in corruption probe AP

💸 Credit-Rating Providers Settle With SEC Over Off-Channel Communication Violations SEC

💸 GOP-led states sue to end Biden’s student debt forgiveness policy Hill

💸 UK fraud watchdog faces hefty bill after appeal rejected in ENRC case Reuters

💸 UK to slash amount banks must refund to fraud victims Guardian

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Crypto & Cyber

🔐 Clearview AI fined $34M by data protection watchdog over 'illegal database' AP

🔐 Crypto industry faces ‘difficult to detect’ North Korean social engineering scams Record

🔐 YubiKeys are vulnerable to cloning attacks thanks to newly discovered side channel Ars

🔐 Halliburton confirms data was stolen in ongoing cyberattack TechCrunch

🔐 Why is the Middle East losing so much money to cybercrime? DW

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Trafficking

🚚 Gun shops that sold weapons trafficked into Washington, DC, sued by nation’s capital and Maryland AP

🚚 Gun crime soars as Brussels becomes new drug trafficking hub AFP

🚚 Malaysia’s enforcers forge plans to prevent wildlife trafficking at borders Traffic

"Without freedom of thought there can be no such thing as wisdom and no such thing as public liberty without freedom of speech."
--Benjamin Franklin

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